Frequently asked questions

Where do the rates come from?

Live mid-market exchange rates from the free open.er-api.com service, which sources its data from public central-bank feeds. Rates are USD-based; cross-rates between any two currencies are computed via USD as the pivot.

How often are the rates updated?

The upstream API publishes a new snapshot once per day. We re-fetch on every page load and cache the result in your browser for 5 minutes to avoid redundant requests. The freshness timestamp is shown beneath each conversion.

Are these rates the same as my bank's?

No. These are the mid-market rate — the midpoint between the bid and ask price at which currencies are traded between large institutions. Banks, money-transfer services, and credit cards typically add a markup of 1–4% (or more) on top of mid-market when converting your money. Use this calculator to compare what your provider is actually charging you.

What happens if the live API is down?

The converter falls back to a stored snapshot of major-currency rates baked into the page. A small "stale rates" warning appears so you know the values may be out of date. The fallback covers 35+ major currencies but does not include exotic pairs.

Can I link to a specific conversion?

Yes. Every input syncs to the URL, so any link like /?a=500&f=EUR&t=USD reproduces the exact conversion. Useful for sharing, embedding, or letting AI agents construct calls.

Live mid-market rates from open.er-api.com (USD-based, daily snapshot). Cross-rates computed via USD pivot. Rates cached in your browser for 5 minutes. No accounts, no tracking beyond standard analytics. URL-shareable via ?a=&f=&t=.

Part of extrautil — a collection of free, practical tools. Educational tool only; not financial advice. Real-world conversions through banks or providers may differ due to spreads and fees.